Should Dancers Train Online?
Over the past few years, online dance training has shifted from a temporary solution to a long-term feature of dance education. While digital classes offered flexibility and access during global lockdowns, the question now is whether online training can (or should) continue to play a meaningful role in a dancer’s development. This post explores both the benefits and the limitations of virtual dance learning, offering a critical yet open perspective on what dancers gain and lose in digital space.
The Advantages of Online Dance Training
Accessibility and Flexibility
One of the most significant benefits of online training is accessibility. Dancers who may not have access to elite studios or instructors due to geography, finances, or time constraints can now engage with high-quality classes from anywhere. Recorded content also allows dancers to train on their own schedule, revisit challenging material, and learn at a pace that suits them.
Exposure to Diverse Styles and Voices
Digital platforms give dancers access to teachers and choreographers they may never encounter in person. This broadens stylistic awareness and cultural understanding, allowing dancers to step outside the confines of their local training ecosystem.
Ownership of Learning
Online formats often require dancers to take more responsibility for their own learning. This can foster self-discipline, reflection, and independence: valuable traits for any artist navigating an evolving industry.
The Limitations of Digital Dance
Lack of Physical Feedback and Correction
One of the primary limitations of virtual training is the absence of in-person corrections. Teachers are often unable to give detailed technical feedback, and dancers may struggle to adjust alignment, dynamics, or placement without tactile guidance.
Reduced Spatial Awareness and Performance Energy
Dancing in small bedrooms or living rooms affects how dancers use space, manage momentum, and project energy. These limitations can hinder the development of stage presence, dynamic control, and kinaesthetic awareness, elements that are difficult to replicate through a screen.
Connection and Community
Dance has always been about more than movement. In-person training offers a sense of community, shared energy, and emotional connection that’s difficult to recreate in a digital space. The informal interactions between classes, backstage, in rehearsal are a huge part of a dancer’s social and artistic growth.
When Online Works and When It Doesn’t
Online training works best as a supplement to in-person work, not a replacement. It’s ideal for:
Learning choreography and repertoire
Building strength and flexibility
Exploring new styles or teachers
Maintaining conditioning during breaks or travel
But it’s less effective for:
Corrective technical training
Partnering and group work
Developing stage presence and musicality
Long-term development for early-stage dancers
Personal Reflection: What I’ve Learned from Teaching Online
As someone who has both taken and taught online classes, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful - and how frustrating - virtual training can be. On one hand, it’s allowed me to reach students I never would’ve connected with otherwise. On the other, I’ve felt the limitations when trying to correct a posture, feel a rhythm, or give a student that one tactile cue that shifts everything.
What I’ve learned is that digital tools are just that: tools. They’re valuable, but they aren’t complete. When used intentionally, and in combination with in-person training, they can enrich a dancer’s education. But they should never replace the full sensory experience of being in the studio, surrounded by music, people, and movement.
Practical Takeaways for Dancers and Educators
Use online classes to supplement, not replace, in-person learning.
Prioritise technical clarity and correction during in-studio sessions.
Choose online classes that offer structured progression and individual feedback.
Create designated dance space when training remotely; even a small corner with a mirror and floor space can make a difference.
Stay socially connected: use group chats, check-ins, or voice notes to keep the feeling of community alive, even online.
Summary: Finding Balance in a Hybrid Dance World
Online dance training isn’t going away, and it shouldn’t. It has opened doors, expanded access, and brought new voices into the global dance conversation. But like any tool, its effectiveness depends on how we use it. By understanding its strengths and its limits, dancers and educators can make more informed choices, and build hybrid practices that support creativity, consistency, and connection.